CITY OF BOSTON. 


aoa —— ee, See ee 


* 


City Council, October 16, 1837. 


The Joint Committee who were instructed ‘‘ to revise the 
City Charter, and prepare a new draft thereof, which shall 
contain all the amendments they may deem desirable, and to 
report said draft in sufficient season for the action of the in- 

habitants upon it at the next municipal election,’’ have given 
such careful attention to the subject as its great importance 
| demanded, and ask leave respectfully to report the accompany- 
Bing draft, with the following explanation of the changes they 
have thought it expedient to recommend. 
The first alteration to which they would call attention is one 
Jof form, being merely the incorporating, in the proper places, 
,of the various acts in addition to the act establishing the city 
of Boston. In connexion with this point the Committee will 
take occasion to state that they have given their attention to 
the phraseology of the draft throughout, and have endeavored 
to make it more perspicuous, and wherever it was practicable, 
= more simple. 
2 The first improvement in the substance of the act relates to 
= the provisicn which is made for the election of ward officers, 
and for proceeding with elections, by adjournment, in cases 
of non-election of ward officers and members of the Common 
Q Council. The endeavor of the Committee was to make the 
necessary arrangements such as would be at once convenient 
to the citizens, and likely to secure to them, in the most per- 
fect manner, the advantages of the right of suffrage. They 
have attempted also to make the language as perspicuous ‘as 
the nature of the case would permit. These provisions will 
be found in sections 3 and 8. 
In the ninth Section there is a new provision for determin- 
‘ging the right of a person returned as a member of the School 
Committee to a seat at the Board. It may be recollected 


p An 9 he 


. 


2 


that the revision of the whole charter originated in a case of 
contested election of a member of the School Committee, 
which there seemed to be no power vested in ary body finally 
to determine. The powers of the School Committee are also 
more precisely defined, in the 3lst Section. 

The 22d section provides, in a somewhat more exact and 
definite manner than was done by the 16th section of the 
Charter, for the care and superintendence of the public build- 
ings, and the management of the property of thecity. Ques- 
tions have heretofore arisen upon this point, which it will be 
in the power of the City Council definitively to settle, if this 
amendment should pass. 

The 24th section authorises the City Council to determine 
the mode of election of the Overseers of the Poor, instead of 
prescribing, as was done by the 19th section of the charter, 
that they shall be elected at tle annual ward meetings. The 
object of the Committee, in recommending this alteration, is 
to ascertain if the citizens will authorise such a change in the 
organization of the Board of Overseers, as will render that 
body responsible to the City Council. Some attempts have 
heretofore been made to this effect, without success, in con- 
sequence, as the Committee believed, of the subject not be- 
ing generally understood. Itis not commonly known that 
the Overseers of the Poor are, as a corporation established by 
law, the managers of a fund derived from private contribu- 
tion, bequests and legacies, which, at the present time, 
amounts to,considerably more than one hundred thousand dol- 
lars, and for the use and disbursement. of which, they are 
practically responsible to no one. These funds were given 


by different individuals for objects not very unlike in their. 


character those for which the city gives the control of money 
to the overseers, every year, in the appropriation bill; and it 
seems proper that the body which is called upon to make 
the appropriation should have the means of knowing how large 
that appropriation ought to be. As it is, no one but an Over- 
seer of the Poor knows the amount of income from these pri- 
vate funds, nor how far they may be used for the same. pur- 
poses to which the public contributes. 


«* 


3 


There seems to have been some jealousy felt on this sub- 
ject; as if the City Council were desirous of grasping a 
power which did not properly belong to them, or of abol- 
ishing the Board of Overseers, or of diminishing the amount 
of funds distributed for the benefit of the poor. Nothing 
can be less well founded than either suspicion. ‘The power 
of determining the amount to be appropriated to any partic- 
ular object, ought, one would naturally think, to belong 
to the board that makes thé appropriation, rather than to 


«that which disburses the money. ‘The latter may, of course, 


make a representation of their wants, but at the same time, 
they should also state their resources. This is never done 
by the Overseers, and the City Council have no data, but 
the opinion of the Board of Overseers, on which to form a 
judgment as to the amount necessary to be appropriated 
in any year. The whole object of making the Board of 
Overseers responsible to the City Council is to insure that 
accountability in the disbursement of money which is justly 
insisted on in every other branch of the public service, and 
to which the anomalous independence of the Overseers of the 
Poor is the only exception. The Committee have thought 
it necessary to say this in explanation of the most important 
alteration they have suggested. 

The Committee deem it desirable that the inhabitants 
of the city should vote upon each of these alterations sepa- 
rately, and propose that ballots should be given in, in the fol- 
lowing form. 

CITY CHARTER, NEW DRAFT. 

Shall Section 3d be approved ? 

Shall Section 8th be approved ? 

Shall Section 9th be approved ? 

Shall Section 22d be approved ? 

Shall Section 24th be approved ? 

Shall Section 3lst be approved ? 

Shall Section 34th*be approved ? 

Shall Section 35th be approved ? 

Shall the new draft be presented to the Legislature for 
their action, with the exception of such sections (if any) as 


4, 


may be voted against by a majority of the citizens, and in 
case any of these alterations be rejected by the citizens, shall 
the draft be sent to the Legislature conforming to the previ- 
ous provisions of the charter on the subjects where the change 
proposed is not accepted ? 

In order that the inhabitants may have dae ite to con- 
sider the various subjects of amendment, the Committee 
would recommend that a sufficient number of copies of the 
new draft be printed for distribution, and report the following 
order. 

For the Committee, 


SAML. A. ELIOT. 


Ordered, That seven thousand copies of the new draft of 
the City Charter, together with this report, be printed, and 
distributed in the several wards, as speedily as may be; and 
that the citizens be called upon to give in their votes upon the 
several subjects herein mentioned, in the warrants for the an- 
nual election of municipal officers in December next. 


In the Board of Aldermen, October 16, 1837. 


The foregoing report and order were laid on the table, and 
the usual number of copies ordered to be printed for the use 
of the members of the City Council. 


Attest, S. F. McCLEARY, City Clerk. 
In Board of Aldermen, October 23, 1837. 
Read and accepted and the order passed. 
Sent down for concurrence. 
SAMUEL A. ELIOT, Mayor. 
In Common Council, November 23, 1837. 


Read and concurred, with sundry amendments. 
PHILIP MARETT, President. 


In Board of Aldermen, November 24, 1837. 


Read and the amendments agreed to. 


SAMUEL A. ELIOT, Mayor. 


AN ACT 
ESTABLISHING THE CITY OF BOSTON. 


BE it enacted by the Senate and House of Represent- 
atives, in General Court assembled, and by the authority 
of the same, as follows: Sect. 1. The Inhabitants of the Corporate 
City of Boston, for all purposes for which towns and cities nt 
are by law incorporated in this commonwealth, shall con- 
tinue to be one body politic, in fact and in name, under the 
style and denomination of the city of Boston, and as such, 
shall have, exercise, and enjoy, all the rights, immunities, 
powers, and privileges, and shail be subject to all the du- 
ties and obligations, now incumbent upon, and appertaining 
to said city, as a municipal corporation. And the adminis- 
tration of all the fiscal, prudential, and municipal concerns 
of said city, with the conduct and government thereof, 
shall be vested in one principal officer, to be styled the 
Mayor, one select council, consisting of eight persons, to 
be denominated the Board of Aldermen, and one more nu- 
merous council to consist of forty-eight persons, to be de- 
nominated the Common Council (which boards, in their 
joint capacity, shall be denominated the City Council) 
and also in such other boards of officers, as are hereinafter 
specified. 

Sect. 2. The annual meeting of citizens for the elec- Election of 
“ Soe F 7. : z municipal 
tion of municipal officers hereinafter mentioned, shall be officers. 
held on the first Wednesday of December, and the citi- 
zens of said city, qualified to vote in city affairs, shall 
for the purpose of such election then meet together 
within their respective wards, at such hour and place 
as the Mayor and Aldermen may by their warrant direct 
and appoint. And in order to determine the result of 
any election, the whole number of persons who voted 
at such election shall first be ascertained by counting the 
whole number of separate ballots given in ; and no person 


6 


shall be deemed or declared to be elected, who shall not 
have received a majority of the whole number of ballots; 
and in all returns of elections, the whole number of ballots 
given in shall be distinctly stated ; but blank pieces of paper 
shall not be counted as ballots ; and if at any election, a 
greater number of candidates, than the number to be 
elected, shall severally receive a majority of the whole 
number of ballots, a number equal to the number to be 
elected, of such as have the greatest excess over such 
majority, shall be deemed and declared to be elected; but 
if the whole number to be elected cannot be thus comple- 
ted, by reason of any two or more of such candidates 
having received an equal namber of ballots, the candidates 
having such equal number shall be deemed not to be 
elected. | 
Sect. 3. The-citizens of said city shall at their annual 
Election of meeting choose by ballot one Warden and one Clerk, and 
cers. five Inspectors of elections for each ward, who shall be 
resident in said ward, who shall hold their offices for 
one year, and until others shall be appointed in their 
stead. And it shall be the duty of such Warden to pre- 
side at all meetings of the citizens of such ward, to pre- 
serve order therein; and it shall be the duty of such Clerk 
to make a fair and true record, and keep an exact journal 
of all the acts and votes of the citizens at such ward meet- 
ings ; and to deliver over such records and journals, to- 
gether with all other documents and papers held by him in 
his said capacity, to his successor in such office. And if 
at any meeting, the Warden shall be absent, the Clerk, 
shall call the citizens to order and preside, until a War- 
den pro tempore shall be chosen 3s which may be done 
by nomination and hand vote, if the Clerk so direct. 
And it shall be the duty of the Warden and Inspectors, 
in each ward, to receive, sort, and count, and of the 
Warden to declare all votes at all elections within such 
ward. And the Warden, wlerk, and Inspectors, so chosen, 
shall respectively be under oath, faithfully and impartially 
to discharge their several duties relative to all elections ; 


7 


which oath may be administered by the Clerk of such 
ward, to the Warden, and by the Warden to the Clerk and 
Inspectors, or to all said officers, by any Justice of the 
peace for the county of Suffolk ; and acertificate that such 
oaths have been admizistered, shall be entered in the 
record or journal to be kept by the Clerk of such ward, 
and in case of the absence of the Clerk or any of the In- 
spectors from any ward meeting, such officers may be 
chosen pro tempore by hand vote. In case no election of 
Warden, Clerk or Inspectors should be made at the an- 
nual meeting, adjournments may be had for the purpose of 
effecting such election, in the same manner as is herein- 
after provided with regard to the election of members of 
the Common Council. 

Sect. 4. The Warden, or other presiding officer of 
such ward meeting, shall have full power and authority 
to preserve order and decorum and to repress all ri- 
Otous, tumultuous, and disorderly conduct therein, and 
for that purpose to call to his aid, any constable or other 
peace officer, and also to command the aid and assistance 
of any citizen or citizens, who may be present ; and any 
peace officer, or other citizen, neglecting or refusing to 
afford such aid, shall be taken and deemed to be guilty of a 
misdemeanor. And such Warden shall also have power and 
authority, by warrant, under his hand, to cause any per- 
son or persons who shall be guilty of any riotous, tumultu- 
ous, or disorderly conduct at such meeting, to be taken 
into custody and restrained: Provided, however, ‘That 
such restraint shall not continue after the adjournment or 
dissolution of such meeting : And provided, further, That 
the person, so guilty of such disorderly conduct, shall be 
liable, notwithstanding such restraint, to be prosecuted 
and punished, in the same manner, as if such arrest had 
not been made. 

sect. 5. The citizens of said city, shall, at their an- 
nual meeting, be called on to give in their votes for one 
able and discreet person, being an inhabitant of the city, 
to be Mayor of the said city for the term of one year. And 


Powers of 
Warden. 


Election of 
Mayor. 


8 


all votes so given in, in each ward, being sorted and 
counted by the Warden and Inspectors, and declared by 
the Warden, shall be recorded at large, by the Clerk, in 
open ward meeting: and in making such declaration and 
record, the whole number of votes or ballots, given in, 
shall be distinctly stated, together with the name of every 
person voted for, and the number of votes given for 
each person respectively ; such numbers to be express- 
ed in words at length; and a transcript of such re~- 
cord, certified and authenticated by the Warden, wlerk, 
and a majority of the Inspectors of elections for each 
ward, shall forthwith be transmitted or delivered by such 
ward Clerk, to the City Clerk. And it shall be the duty of 
the City Clerk, forthwith to enter such returns, or a_ plain 
and intelligible abstract of them, as they are successively 
received, upon the journal of the proceedings of the May- 
or and Aldermen, or some other book to be kept for that 
purpose. And it shall be the duty of the Mayor and Al- 
dermen to meet together within two days after such elec- 
tion, and to examine and compare all the said returns, and 
to ascertain whether any person has a majority of all the 
votes given for Mayor ; and in case a majority is so given, 
it shall be their duty to give notice thereof, in writing, to 
the person’thus elected, and also to make the same known 
to the inhabitants of said city. But if, on such an examin- 
ation, no person appears to have a majority of all the votes 
given for Mayor, the Mayor and Aldermen for the time be- 
ing, shall issue their warrants for meetings of the citizens of 
the respective wards, for the choice of a Mayor, at such time 
and place, as they shall judge most convenient. And the 
same proceedings shall be had in all respects, as are here- 
in before directed, until a Mayor shall be chosen by a ma- 
jority of all the voters voting at such elections. And 
whenever, on examination by the Mayor and Alder- 
men, of the returns of votes given for Mayor at the 
meeting in the wards holden for the purpose of electing 
that officer, last preceding the first Monday of January, 
no person shall appear to have a majority of all the votes 


a 


i) 


given for Mayor, the Mayor and Aldermen, by whom 
such examination is made, shall make a record of that 
fact, an attested copy of which, it shall be the duty of the 
City Clerk to produce and read, on the first Monday of 
January, in the presence of the members returned to s#r¥e 
as Aldermen and Common Council-men, assembled to- 
gether, at which meeting the senior member chosen to 
serve in the Board of Aldermen shall preside; and thereup- 
‘on the oaths may be administered to the members élect, as 
is hereinafter provided ; and the Board of Aldermen shall 
then proceed to elect a Chairman, and the Common Council 
a President, in their respective chambers, and being re- 
spectively organized, shall proceed to business. And the 
Board of Aldermen shall forthwith issue their warrants for 
meetings of the citizens of the respective wards, for the 
choice of a Mayor, at such time and place as they shall 
judge most convenient ; and the same proceedings shall 
be had, in all respects, as are before directed, and repeat- 
ed from time to time, until a Mayor be chosen by a majo 
rity of all the voters voting at such elections: mast 
Srct. 6. Incase any person elected Mayor of said Absence or, 
city, shall refuse to accept the office, the same proceed- of Mayor. 
ings shall be had, in all respects, as are herein before 
directed in cases wherein there has been no choice of 
Mayor, until a Mayor be chosen by a majority of votes.— 
And in case of the unavoidable absence, by sickness or 
otherwise, of the Mavor elect, on the first Monday in 
January, the City government shall organize itself in the 
mode herein before provided in cases wherein no person 
shall have been elected Mayor at the meeting last preceed- 
ing the first Monday in January, and may proceed to busi- 
ness in the same manner as if the Mayor were present. 
And in case of the decease, inability, or absence of the 
Mayor, and the same being declared, and a vote passed by 
the Aldermen and Common Council, respectively, declar- 
ing such cause, and the expediency of electing a Mayor, for 
the time being, to supply the vacancy thus oceasioned, it 
shall be lawful for the Aldermen and Common Council: to’ 
2 


Election of 
Aldermen, 


Election of 
Common 
Council. 


. td 


meet in convention, and elect a Mayor to hold the said 
office until such occasion shall be removed, or until a new 
election. 

Sect. 7. The citizens of said city, shall, at their annual 
meeting, be called upon to give in their votes for eight able 
and discreet persons, being inhabitants of said city, to con- 
stitute the Board of Aldermen for the ensuing year; and all 
the votes so given in, in each ward, being sorted and 
counted by the Warden and Inspectors and declared by the 
Warden, shall be recorded at large by the Clerk, in open 
ward meeting; and in making such declaration and record, 
the whole number of ballots given in, shall be par- 
ticularly stated, together with the name of every per- 
son voted for, the number of votes given for each 
person, and also the number of blanks or ballots con- 
taining some name or names; and a transcript of such 
record, certified by the Warden and Clerk, anda ma- 
jority of the Inspectors of each ward, shall, by the said 
Clerk, within two days, be transmitted to the City Clerk, 
whereupon the same proceedings shall be had to ascertain 
and determine the persons chosen as Aldermen, as are 
herein before directed in regard to the choice of Mayor, 
and for a new election, in case of the whole number re- 
quired not being chosen at the first election. And in case 
of the death or resignation of any member of the Board of 
Aldermen, the same proceedings shall be had, for the pur- 
pose of filling the vacancy thereby occasioned, as is here- 
in before provided for the annual meeting. And each Al- 
derman so chosen, shall be duly notified in writing, of his 
election, by the Mayor and Aldermen for the time being. 

Secr. 8. At the annual meeting, the citizens of each 
ward shall be called upon to give in their votes for 
four able and discreet men, being inhabitants of said 
ward, to be members of the Common Council: and all 
the ballots so given in, in each ward, being sorted and 
counted by the Warden and Inspectors, and declared by 
the Warden, if it appear that four persons have a majority 


>. 


1] 


of all the ballots given at such election, a public deciara- 
tion thereof, with the names of the persons so chosen, 
shall be made by the Warden, in open ward meeting ; and 
in all cases, a record of such proceedings shall be kept by 
the wlerk, in his journal, stating particularly the whole 
nunsber of ballots given in, the number necessary to make 
a choice, the number actually given for each person, and 
also the number of blanks on ballots containing some name 
or names,—the whole to be written in words at length. 
In case four persons are not chosen at the first bal- 
Joting im any ward, the meeting of said ward shall be 
adjourned, by the presiding officer, for the purpose of 
filling the vacancies, to a period not less than twenty-four, 
nor more than seventy-two hours distant, from the hour 
when the polls were opened at the first balloting, the time 
of adjournment, within'such limits, to be determined by the 
hand vote of the citizens of the ward, who may be present, 
when such adjournment is had ; and at such adjourned 
meeting, a balloting shall be opened fora number of wom- 
mon wouncilmen, sufficient to complete the number of four, 
which shall be conducted, and its result be declared and re- 
corded in the same manner, as before prescribed for the first 
balloting. And incase there shall still be vacancies in the 
number of Common Councilmen, in any ward, adjourn- 
ments of the meetings of the citizens thereof, for the pur- 
pose of filling the same, shall continue to be had in the 
same manner to periods not less than twenty-four, nor 
more than seventy-two hours distant from each other, 
at all of which, the balloting shall be conducted, and the 
result be declared and recorded in the same manner as be- 
fore prescribed, until the number of four shall be duly cho- 
sen. And at all such adjournments the polls shall be kept 
open the same number of hours as were required by the 
original warrant. Provided, however, That if at the close 
of the last legally adjourned meeting of any ward, as 
aforesaid, preceding the first Monday of January, there 
shall still be vacancies in the number of Common Council- 
men for any ward, no further adjournment shall be had,— 


12 
but a record of the fact, and of the number of such vacan- 
cies, shall be made by the Clerk of the ward in his jow- 
nal, signed therein by the Warden, Clerk, and a majority 
of the Inspectors, an attested copy of which record, shall 
forthwith be delivered by the Clerk of the ward, to the 
City Clerk, whose duty it shall be to lay the same before 
the Mayor and Aldermen, at their first meeting in January: 
and the Mayor and Aldermen shall forthwith issue their 
warrant for a meeting of the citizens of such ward to fil 
the vacancies in the number of Common Councilmen, at 
such time and place as they shall judge most convenient. 
And the same proceedings and adjournments, if necessa- 
ry, within the same limits, shall be had in all respects, un- 
der such new warrant, as have been prescribed, under the 
former one, until the number of four Common Councilmen 
for such ward, shall be duly zhosen. And in case of the 
death or resignation of any member of the Common Coun- 
ceil, the Mayor and Aldermen, upon receiving official no- 
tice thereof, from the Common Council, shall forthwith 
issue their warrant for a meeting of the citizens of the 
ward, in which such vacancy has occarred, for the pur- 
pose of filling the same: and the same proceedings shall 
be had in all respects, and adjournments, if necessary, 
within the same limits, under such warrant, as have been 
prescribed, for the annual meeting for the election of 
Common Councilmen. Provided, however, ‘That if any 


such vacancy shall not have been filled at the close of the - 


last legally adjourned meeting of any ward, prior to the 
first Monday of January, no further proceedings shall be 
had, but the meeting shall be adjourned without day. And 
notice shall be given of all the adjournments before men- 
tioned in two or more of the public newspapers by the 
Clerk of each ward. All persons chosen as members of 
the Common Council, in each ward, shall, within two 
days of their election, be furnished with a certificate 
thereof, signed by the Warden, Clerk, and a majority of 
the Inspectors of such ward ; which certificate shall be 
presumptive evidence of the title of such person to a seat 


ad 


13 


in the Common Council; but such Council shall have au- 
thority to decide ultimately upon all questions relative to 
the qualifications, elections, and returns of its members. 

Sect. 9 The citizens of each ward, shall be called up- Election. of 
on, at their annual meeting, to give in their votes for two mittee. 
able and discreet men, being inhabitants of said ward, to 
be members of the School Committee, and thereupon the 
same proceedings shall be had as are before directed in 


the election of members of the Common Council. And 


each of the persons so chosen as a member of the School 


Committee, in each ward, shall, within two days of his 
election, be furnished with a certificate thereof, signed by 
the Warden, Clerk, and a majority of the Inspectors of such 
ward ; which certificate shall be presumptive evidence of 
the title of such person to a seat in the said board, but 
said committee, shall have authority to decide ultimately 
upon all questions relative to the qualifications, elections, 
and returns of its members. 

Secr.10. Every male citizen of twenty-one years of age Quatitica- 
and upwards, excepting paupers, and persons under guar- erga 
dianship, who shall have resided within the commonwealth 
one year, and within the city six months next preceding any 
meeting of citizens, either in wards, or in general meeting, 
for municipal .purposes, and who shall have paid by him- 
self or his parent, master, or guardian, any state or county 
tax, which, within two years next preceding such meeting, 
shall have been assessed upon him, in any town or district 
in this commonwealth, and also every citizen who shall 
be, by law, exempted from taxation, and who shall be in 
all other respects qualified as above mentioned, shall have 
aright to vote at such meeting, and no other person shall 
be entitled to vote at such meeting. 

Sect. 11. The Mayor, Aldermen and Common Coun- Organiza- 

} 4 : tion of City 
cil men, chosen as aforesaid, shall enter on the duties of Council. 
their respective offices on the first Monday in January, in 
each year; and before entering on the duties of their 
offices, shall respectively be sworn, by taking the oath of 
allegiance and oath of office, prescribed in the constitu- 


14 


tion of this commonwealth, and an oath to support the 
constitution of the United States. And such oaths may 
be administered to the Mayor elect, by any one of the 
Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, or any Judge of 
any court of record, commissioned to hold any such court, 
within the said city, or by any Justice of the Peace for 
the county of Suffolk. And such caths shall and may be 
administered to the Aldermen and members of the Common 
Council, by the Mayor, if present, being himself first sworn 
as aforesaid ; and in case he is absent, or no Mayor shall 
have been chosen, then by either of the Justices afore- 
said ; and a certificate that such oaths have been taken 
shall be entered in the journal of the Mayor and Alder- 
men, and of the Common Council respectively, by their 
respective clerks. 

Me ctines of Sect. 12. The Mayor and Aldermen, thus chosen and 

Aldermen. qualified, shall compose one board, and shall sit and act 
together as one body, at all meetings of which, the Mayor, 
if present, shall preside 3 but in his absence, the board 
may elect a chairman, for the time being. All meetings 
of the Mayor and Aldermen, when they are not engaged 
in executive business, shall be public. 

Flection and Sect. 13. The Mayor and Aldermen, together with the 

City Clerk. Common Council, in convention, shall choose a Clerk, 
for the term of one year, and until another person is duly 
chosen to succeed him, who shall be sworn to the faithful 
discharge of the duties of his office, and shall be removable 
at the pleasure of the Mayor and Alderman. He shall be 
denominated the City Clerk, and it shall be his duty to 
keep a journal of the acts and proceedings of the said 
board, composed of the Mayor and Aldermen ; to sign 
all warrants issued by them, and to do such other acts in 
his said capacity, as may lawfully and reasonably be re- 
quired of him; and to deliver over all journals, books, 
papers, and documents, entrusted to him as such Clerk, to 
his successor in office, immediately upon such successor 
being chosen and qualified as aforesaid, or whenever he 
may be thereunto required by the Mayor and Aldermen. 


15 


And the City Clerk thus chosen and qualified, shall con- 
tinue to have all the powers, and perform all the duties 
now by law belonging to him. 

Secor. 14. The persons so chosen and qualified, as mem- Meetings of 
bers of the Common Council of the said city, shall sit and Council. 
act together as a separate body, distinct from that of the 
Mayor and Aldermen, except in those cases in which the 
two. bodies are to meet in convention ; and the said Coun- 
cil shall have power, from time to time, to choose one of 
their own-members to preside over their deliberations, and 
to preserve order, who shall be denominated the President 
of the Common Council, and also to choose a Clerk, who piection ana 
shall be under oath faithfully to discharge the duties of his seamen | 
office, who shall hold such office during the pleasure Teena 
said Council, and whose duty it shall be to attend said 
Council, when the same is in session, to keep a journal of 
its acts, votes and proceedings, and to perform such other 
services in said capacity, as said Council may require. 

All sittings of the Common Council shall be public ; and 
twenty-five members shall constitute a quorum for the 
transaction of business. 

Sect. 15. The Mayor of the said city, thus chosen and Salary and 
qualified, shall be taken and deemed to be the chief exe- Mayor. 
cutive officer of said corporation; and he shall be com- 
pensated for his services by a salary, to be fixed by the 
board of Aldermen and Common Council,.in City Council 
assembled, payable at stated periods ; which salary shall 
not exceed the sum of five thousand dollars annually, and 
he shall receive no other compensation or emoluments 
whatever ; and no regulations enlarging or diminishing 
such compensation shall be made, to take effect until the 
expiration of the year, for which the Mayor then in office, 
shall have been elected. And it shall be the duty of the 
Mayor to be vigilant and active at all times, in causing the 
laws for the government of said city to be duly executed 
and put in force ; to inspect the conduct of all subordinate 
officers of the government thereof, and as far as may be in 


16 


his power, to cause all negligence, Carelessness, and posi- 
tive violation of duty, tobe duly prosecuted and punished. 
He shall have power, whenever in his judgment, the good 
of said city may require it, to summon meetings of the 
Board of Aldermen and Common Council, or either of them, 
although the meetings of said boards may stand adjourned 
to amore distant day. And it shall be the duty of the 
Mayor, from time to time, to communicate to both 
branches of the City Council all such information, and re- 
commend all such measures as may tend to the improve- 
ment of the finances, the police, health, security, cleanli- 
ness, comfort, and ornament of the said city. 

fecsuative Sect. 16. The administration of police, together with 


‘powers of 


Mayorand the executive powers of the said corporation generally, 
Aldermen. 


the town of Boston, either by the general laws of this 


Commonwealth, by particular laws relative to the powers’ 


and duties of said selectmen, or by the usages, votes, or 
by-laws of said town, and all the powers subsequently 

Police.  yested in the Mayor and Aldermen of said City, shall be 
and hereby are vested in the Mayor and Aldermen, as 
hereby constituted, as fully and amply as if the same were 
herein specially enumerated. 


Licensesto Sect. 17. The said Mayor and Aldermen shall continue 


innholders, 


vietuallers & to have full and exclusive power to grant licenses to inn- 


holders, victuallers, and retailers, within the said city, in all 


cases wherein they are now authorized to grant such licen- 


ses ; and in granting such licenses, it shall be lawful for the 
said Mayor and Aldermen to annex thereto such reasona- 
ble conditions in regard to time, place, and other cir- 
cumstances, under which such license shall be acted 


upon, as in their judgment, the peace, quiet, and sood 


order of the city may require. Also to take bonds of all 
persons so licensed, in reasonable sums, and with suffi- 
cient sureties, conditioned for a faithful compliance with 
the terms of their said licenses, and of all laws and regu- 


lations respecting such licensed houses. And said Mayor 


and all the powers formerly vested in the selectmen of 


= 


17 


and Aldermen, after the granting of any such license, shall 
have power to revoke or suspend the same, if in their 
Judgment the order and welfare of said city require it. 
And any person or persons who shall presume to exercise 
either of the said employments, within said city, without 
having first obtained a license therefor, or in any manner 
contrary to the terms of said license, or after the same 
shall have been revoked or suspended, shall be liable 

to the same penalties and forfeitures, to be prosecuted 
for in the same manner as now by law provided, in 
case of exercising either of said employments without 

a license; and shall also be taken and deemed to 
have forfeited their bonds, respectively given as aforesaid, 
upon which suits may be instituted against such licensed 
persons or their sureties, at the discretion of the said 
Mayor and Aldermen, and in such manner as they may di- 
rect, for the purpose of enforcing such forfeitures : Pro- 
vided, however, That all innholders, retailers, and victual- 
lers, shall, on being licensed as aforesaid, pay the same 
sum now required by law ; which sum shall be accounted 
for in the same way and manner as is now required by law. 

Sect. 18. The Mayor and Aldermen shall have power Licenses to 
to license all theatrical exhibitions, and all public shows, other extibi- 
and all exhibitions of whatever name or nature, to which o 
admission is obtained on payment of money, on such 
terms and conditions as to them may seem just and rea- 
sonable; and to regulate the same from time to time, in 
such manner as to them may appear necessary to preserve 
order and decorum, and to prevent the interruption of 
peace and quiet. And any person or persons who shall 
set forth, establish, or promote any such exhibition or 
show, or publish, or advertise the same, or otherwise aid 
or assist therein, without a license so obtained as afore- 
said, or contrary to the terms or conditions of such li- 
cense, or whilst the same is suspended, or after the same 
is revoked by said Mayor and Aldermen, shall be liable to 
such forfeiture, as the City Council may, by any by-law 
made for that purpose prescribe. 

Sect. 19. All other powers, heretofore by law vest- By-taws and 


ordinances, 


ed in the town of Soston, or in the inhabitants thereof, ,, 


Assessment 
of taxes. 


pau 


as a municipal corporation, or in the City Council of the 
City of Boston, shall be, and hereby are continued to be 
vested in the Mayor and Aldermen, and Common Council 
of the said City, to be exercised by concurrent vote, each 
board, as hereby constituted, having a negative upon the 
proceedings of the other. More especially they shall have 
power to make all such needful and. salutary by-laws or 
ordinances, as towns by the laws of this. commonwealth 
have power to make and establish, and to annex penal- 
ties not exceeding fifty dollars for the breach thereof, 
which {by-laws and ordinances shall take effect and be in 
force, from and after the time therein respectively limit- 
ed, without the sanction or confirmation of any court, or 
other authority whatsoever ; Provided, That such by-laws 
and ordinances shall not be repugnant to the constitution 
and laws of the commonwealth : And provided also, That 
the same shall be liable to be annulled by the Legislature 
thereof. 

Sect. 20. The said City Council shall also have pow- 
er, from time to time, to lay and assess taxes for all pur- 
poses for which towns are by law required or authorized to 


_ assess and grant money, and also for all purposes for which 


county taxes may be levied and assessed; Provided, how- 
ever, That in the assessment and apportionment of all such 
taxes upon the polls and estates of all persons liable to con- 
tribute thereto, the same rules and regulations shall be ob- 
served as are now established by the laws of this common- 


wealth, or may be hereafter enacted, relative to the assess- 


ment and apportionment of town taxes. ‘The said City Coun- 
cil shall also have power to provide for the assessment and 
collection of such taxes, and to make appropriations of all 
public moneys, and provide for the disbursement thereof, 
and take suitable measures to ensure a just and prompt ac- 
count thereof ; and for these purposes, may either elect 
such Assessors and Assistant Assessors as may be needful, 
or provide for the appointment or election of the same, or 
any*of them, by the Mayor and Aldermen, or by the. citi- 
zens, as in their judgment may be most conducive to the 
public good, and may also require of all persons entrusted 


with the collection, custody, or disbursement of public 


—— 


19 


moneys, such bonds, with such conditions and such sure- 
ties, as the case may in their judgment require. 

Sect. 21. The said City Council shall have power, and APrene og. 
they are hereby aythorised to provide for the appointment “™ 
or election of all necessary officers, for the good govern- 
ment of said city, not otherwise provided for; to prescribe 
their duties, and fix their compensation, and to choose a 
Register of Deeds, whenever the city shall be one county. 

Sect. 22. The City Council also shall have the care eae 
‘and superintendence of the public buildings, and the care, 
custody, and management of the property of the city, with 
power to lease or sell the same, except the Common and 
Faneuil Hall, and to authorise and empower either branch 
of said council or any committee thereof to lease or 
sell the same. And the said City Council shall have 
power also to purchase property, real or personal, in 
the name, and for the use of the city, whenever its in- 

‘terest or convenience may, in their judgment, require it. 

Sect. 23. All the power and authority now by law Quarantine. 
vested in the City Council relative to the preservation of 
the public health and the quarantine of vessels, shall con- 
tinue to be vested in the said City Council, to be carried Pabtichealth 
into execution by the appointment of Health Commission- 
ers, or in such other manner as the health, cleanliness, 
comfort, and order of the city may, in their judgment, re- 

‘quire, subject to such alterations as the Legislature may 
from time to time adopt. 

Sect. 24. The said City Council shall have power and Overseers of 
they are hereby authorised to provide for the election of 
one person in each ward as Overseers of the Poor for the 
said City. 

Secr. 25. The said City Council shall have power, if fuvevers of 
they see fit, to elect the Mayor and Aldermen to be Sur- 
veyors of highways for said city. 

Secr. 26. The Mayor and Aldermen of said city, and Mi a 
the said Common Council shall, as soon as conveniently 
may be, after their annual organization, meet together in 
convention, and elect some suitable and trustworthy per- 
son to be the Treasurer of’said city. 


20 


ityinewen, SECT. 27. All boards, and officers, acting under the 

Lsphals authority of said corporation, and entrusted with the ex- 
penditure of public money, shall be accountable therefor 
to the City Council in such manner as they may direct. 
And it shall be the duty of the City Council to publish and 
distribute, annually, for the information of the citizens, a 
particular statement of the receipts and expenditures of all 
public moneys, and a particular statement of all city prop- 
CTT Yee 

by Mace «SecT. 28. In all cases in which appointments to office 

_ are directed to be made by the Mayor and Aldermen, the 

Mayor shall have the exclusive power of nomination ; such 
nomination, however, being. subject to be confirmed or re- 
jected by the Board of Aldermen. 

Cin Gauci SECT. 29. No person shall be eligible to any office, the 

hae witess. Salary of which is payable out of the city treasury, who at 
the time of his appointment, shall be a member of either 
the Board of Aldermen or Common Council; and neither 
the Mayor nor any Alderman, or member of the Com- 
mon Council, shall, at the same time, hold any other 
office under the city government. 

School Gom- Sect. 30. The School Committee shall consist of the 
Mayor of the City, the President of the Common Coun- 


cil, and of the twenty-four persons, chosen as is prescrib- — 


ed in the ninthsection of this act. And at all meetings of 
the Board the Mayor, if present, shall preside. 

Powersof Sect. 31. The said Committee shall have the care and 

mittee. management of the Public Schools, and may elect all 
such instructers as they deem proper and remove the 
same whenever they consider it expedient. And they are 
also empowered to distribute the sum, which shall be an- 
nually appropriated by the City Council, among the in- 
structers in the Public Schools, so fixing the amount 
of the salary of each instructer, however, as that in no 
case shall the aggregate amount of all said salaries, exceed 
the whole sum that shall have been so appropriated by 
the said Council. And generally they shall have all the 
powers, in relation to the care and management of the 
Public Schools, which the Selectmen of Towns or School 


21 


Committees, are authorised by the laws of this Common- 
wealth to exercise. | 

Sect. 32. It shall be the duty of the two branches pf 
the City Council, in the month of October, in each year, tives- 
to meet in convention, and determine the number of Rep- 
resentatives, which it may be expedient for the corpora- 
tion to send to the General Court in the ensuing year, within 
its constitutional limits, and to publish such determination, 
which shall be conclusive; and the number thus determin- 
ed shall be specified in the warrant calling a meeting for 
the election of representatives. 

Secr. 33. All elections for Governor, Lieutenant Gov- Elections of 
ernor, Senators, Representatives, Representatives to Con- 8. officers. 
gress, and all other officers, who are to be chosen and 
voted for by the people, shall be held at meetings of the 
citizens qualified to vote in such elections in their respec- 
tive wards, at the time fixed by law for those elections 
respectively. And at such meetings, all the votes given 
in, being collected, sorted and counted by the War- 
den and Inspectors, and declared by. the Warden, in 
each ward, it shall be the duty of the Clerk of such 
ward to make a true record of the same, specifying 
therein the whole number of ballots given in, the name 
of each person voted for, and the number of votes for 
each, and also the number of blanks on ballots containing 
some name or names, expressed in words at length. And 
a transcript of such record, certified by the Warden, 
Clerk, and a majority of the Inspectors of elections in 
such ward, shall forthwith be transmitted or delivered by 
each Ward Clerk to the City Clerk. It shall be the duty 
of the City Clerk forthwith to enter such returns, or a 
plain and intelligible abstract of them, as they are succes- 
sively received, in the journals of the proceedings of the 
Mayor and Aldermen, or in some other book kept for that 
purpose. And it shall be the duty of the Mayor and 
Aldermen to meet together within two days after every 
such election, and examine and compare all the said re- 
turns, and thereupon to make out a certificate of the result 
of such election, to be signed by the Mayor and a majority 
of the Aldermen, and also by the City Clerk, which shall 


22 


be transmitted, delivered, or returned, in the same manner 
as similar returns are now by law directed to be made, 
and such certificates and returns shall have the same 
force and effect in all respects, as like returns of similar 
elections made by the Selectmen of towns. In all elec- 
tions for Representatives to the General Court, in case 
the whole number proposed to be elected shall not be 
chosen by a majority of the votes legally returned, the 
Mayor and Aldermen shall forthwith issue their warrant 
for a new election, and the same proceedings shall be 
had in all respects as are herein before directed, until 
the whole number shall be elected. 

List ofeiti-  Seor. 34. It shall be the duty of the Assessors of the 

‘qualified vo- of the City of Boston, once in each year, at the time when 
they make a list of the inhabitants for the purposes of tax- 
ation, to make also a separate and distinct alphabetical list 
of the qualified voters in the respective wards, so far as 
they can ascertain them by careful inquiry in their annual 
visits through the City, taking care that each name is spelt 
correctly—designating separately the name of each person 
composing a firm or copartnership, and specifying, as far 
as practicable, the street and number where each voter on 
their said list resides. 

And it shall further be the duty of the said Assessors, 
to deposit the original lists of voters so made by them, as 
they are completed for each ward, with the Mayor and 
Aldermen. | 

Wardlists, Sect. 35. It shall be the daty of the City Treasurer, 
twice in each year, namely, once in the month of October, 
not more than twenty, nor less than fifteen days before the 
second Monday in November, and once in the month of 
November, not more than twenty nor less than fifteen days 
before the first Wednesday in December, to return to the 
Mayor and Aldermen an accurate list of all persons who 
shall not have paid into the City Treasury any State or 
County tax, which within two years preceding the time of 
such return shal] have been assessed upon them, excepting 
such as shall be by law exempt from taxation. 

Sect. 386. It shall be the duty of the Mayor and Al- 
dermen, ten days at least prior to the election of city offi- 


a P 


23 


cers, or of any officer or officers under the government of 
the United States, or of this Commonwealth, from the last 
list of qualified voters of the city, deposited with them by 
the Assessors, and from the last return made to them by 
the City Treasurer as directed, and from such other satis- 


‘factory evidence, as may be furnished them, to make out 


correct alphabetical lists of all the citizens of each ward, 
qualified to vote in such elections,—to cause the said list 
for each ward, to be posted up in one or more public places, 
in each ward respectively, ten days at least prior to each 
election—and also to cause one copy of all such ward lists 
to be exposed to public inspection, at their room, for the 
space of at least ten days prior to every election. And the 
said Mayor and Aldermen, shall by the full board or by a 
committee, as they shall deem best, be in session, for the 
space of ten days at jeast prior to the day of election, for 
thepurpose of receiving evidence of the qualifications of 
persons, claiming a right to vote in such elections, and of 
correcting the lists of voters. And it shall further be the 
duty of the said Mayor and Aldermen, at a reasonable time 
before the opening of the polls for each election, to deliv- 
er such list of voters in each ward, so prepared and cor- 
rected, to the Clerk of said ward, to be used by the War- 
den and Inspectors thereof at such election ;—and after 
such lists have been so delivered to the Clerks of the sev- 
eral wards, no alterations therein shall be made, of any 
kind, by any person or for any cause whatever, but the 
same shall be conclusive for the purpose of such election. 
And it shall be the duty of the Inspectors of Elections in 


each ward, to receive the votes of all persons, whose 
names are borne on the list of voters of their ward, and to 


refuse the votes of all persons, whose names are not borne 
on said list, without any discretionary power on their 
part ;—Provided however, that if any person claim to vote 
by a name, which, though borne on the ward list, is be- 
Jieved by the Inspector, to whom the vote is offered, to 
be intended for another person of the same name, he shall 
refer the same to the Warden, whose duty it shall be to 
decide upon the reception or rejection of the vote. And 
the Inspector shall cause a mark to be placed against the 


e: hig) Sad af" oF ‘ * * a va pie ay BS 
ee ee 
name of each voter in such list, at the time of giving his © ui: } ! 

vote. S his 

General Srcr. 37. General meetings of the citizens, qualified | 


meetings. ; 
to vote in city affairs, may from time to time be held to 


consult upon the common good, to give instructions to 
their representatives, and to take all lawful measures to 
obtain a redress of any grievances, according to the right 
secured to the people by the constitution of this Common- 
wealth. And such meetings shall and may be duly warn- 

ed by the Mayor and Aldermen, upon the requisition of | Kid 
fifty qualified voters of said city. sata ae 

Mahe ex, Scr. 38. All warrants for the meetings of citizens, Mi 

ngs. for municipal purposes, to be had either in general mete 
ings or in wards, shall be issued by the Mayor and Alder- 
men, and in such form, and be served, executed, and re- 
turned at such time, and in such manner, as the City 
Council may, by any by-law or ordinance, direct and ap- 
point. | 

Division into Srcr. 39. It shall be the duty of the City Council, and | 
they are empowered, during the year 1838 and alsowhen-— 
ever they deem it expedient, not oftener however than) 
once in ten years, to cause a new division of the city to. 
be made into wards not exceeding twelve in number, in 
such manner as to include an equal number of inhabitants © 
in each ward, as nearly as conveniently may be, consist- 
ently with well defined limits to each ward; including, in 
such computation of number of inhabitants, persons of all» 
descriptions, and taking the last census, made under the 
authority of the United States, or the Commonwealth of | 
Massachusetts, as a basis for such computation. 

Amend Sper. 40. Nothing in this act contained shall be so_ 
construed as to restrain or prevent the Legislature from © 
amending or altering the same, whenever they shall deem | 
it expedient. | 7 

Ronen: Sort. 41. The act entitled an act establishing the 
City of Boston, passed Feb. 23, 1822 and all acts in ad- 
dition thereto, are hereby repealed. Hy et 

Spor. 42. No act which has been heretofore repealed, 
shall be revived by the repeal of the acts mentioned in the | 
preceding section. . 

JH. Eastburn, City Printer—18 State Street. 


